creation Archives - Page 20 of 69 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

November 7, 2022November 6, 2022

Blood Moon and Shooting Stars

On the morning of November 8, you will have a chance to see a total lunar eclipse, also known as a “blood moon.” At the same, you may also see a display of “shooting stars.”

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days as our planet comes between the Moon and the Sun. A couple of times per year, the alignment is precise enough that some part of Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon. If the outer area of the shadow crosses the Moon, we see a slight darkening of the Moon’s light. If the full shadow covers only a portion of the Moon, we see a partial eclipse looking as if someone has taken a bite out of the Moon. However, we will see the more dramatic total lunar eclipse this time.

When the eclipse reaches totality, the Moon will take on an orange or reddish glow. That is why people call it a “blood moon.” That color is because the small amount of sunlight reaching the Moon’s surface is the glow of sunrise and sunset all around the world. Our atmosphere bends and filters the light, blocking the blue light and focusing the lower-frequency reds and yellows on the Moon. We see that reflected back to us, this time for about 85 minutes.

You can enjoy a double treat if the sky is clear and the weather is not too cold. This is also the time for the annual Taurid meteor shower. The annual Taurid “shooting stars” are actually fragments of the comet Encke which burn up from the friction of Earth’s atmosphere. They are primarily tiny sand-grain-size pieces of rock that appear as streaks of light. However, some may be a little larger, looking like fireballs. The Taurids generally move more slowly and are often larger than the meteorites of other annual meteor showers. But, they may be fewer and farther between, with perhaps five to fifteen per hour visible in very dark skies.

The problem this year is that the peak of the Taurids is during the full Moon. The bright Moon always makes it difficult to see the much dimmer meteor showers. However, the 85 minutes of the total lunar eclipse creates an ideal window to look for the meteorites. So you can enjoy the “blood moon” and the “shooting stars” at the same time.

So, how and when can you see them? The total eclipse phase will begin on the morning of November 8 at 5:17 a.m. and end at 6:42 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The partial eclipse will start and end about half an hour before and after those times. The faint penumbral phase will begin and end about an hour before and after the partial eclipse times. To see the Taurids, plan on being where you can see a clear view of the whole sky during the total eclipse phase. If you miss this total lunar eclipse, the next one will not occur until March 14, 2025.

Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know there is a God by observing the things He has made. What do the lunar eclipse and the Taurid meteor shower tell us about God? They are not omens of world events. They tell us that the creation is not chaotic but predictable. We live in a solar “system” in which we can accurately predict the movement of planets and moons and calculate what is going to happen and when–even to the exact minute. God has given us an orderly universe that we can study to learn about His power and wisdom. He has also given us His written word, which we can study to learn about His love and find the instructions for how to enjoy the gifts He wants to give us.

References: TimeandDate.com on their website or YouTube channel and NASA HERE, HERE, and HERE

November 4, 2022November 1, 2022

Diving Bell Spiders Breathing Underwater

In freshwater lakes, ponds, and rivers in Europe and Asia, a spider spends virtually its entire life below water, catching prey, mating, laying eggs, resting, and overwintering. Called diving bell spiders or simply water spiders (Argyroneta aquatica), they are the only spiders that breathe air underwater.

Diving bell spiders have a very dense layer of hydrophobic (water-repelling) hairs on their abdomen and legs that they use to hold a bubble of air. They create a “diving bell” by spinning an underwater web to hold the air bubble. The web is made of silk and a specially-designed and unknown protein-based hydrogel. They spin these sheets between submerged water plants and inflate them with the air held by the spider’s hydrophobic hairs. The silk is waterproof but porous enough to allow gas exchange with the surrounding water. There is a net diffusion of oxygen into the bell and a net diffusion of carbon dioxide out.

Nitrogen escapes from the bell as this process continues, so the bubble size decreases, and the spider has to bring new air in periodically to retain the bubble’s size. However, this system is so efficient that they may not have to add air for more than a day. By being underwater their whole life, diving bell spiders have only frogs and fish as their predators. They play an ecological role in the water body by eating aquatic crustaceans and insects such as mosquito larvae.

God has designed many different systems to allow balance in nature. When humans upset the balance, we create problems. The more we study the less visited areas of planet Earth, the more examples we find of unique life forms. We also find ways of copying God’s designs to create new materials and new ways to improve our living conditions.

References: Science News, July 2, 2011, page 14, and wikipedia.

November 2, 2022November 1, 2022

Marvels of Engineering in Nature

In the creation, we see many patterns that are marvels of engineering. You might not think that shape of a structure is vital to the survival of living things, but it is. As we look more and more carefully at the design of natural things, the evidence shows us that they are not products of blind chance but designed for a purpose.

Considering materials science, the honeycomb design is an excellent place to start. The magnificent honeycomb design uses hexagons stacked into a lattice. Does that make a difference? The answer is a very strong “yes.” The honeycomb must hold a very heavy and dense liquid requiring careful weight distribution. If you designed a honeycomb in a rectangle or triangle pattern, the weight would be on the bottom of the holder, causing it to collapse. In the hexagon design, the weight is distributed in three directions, reducing stress on the bottom.

We see this hexagonal pattern in many areas in the natural world, such as columnar basalt in the structure called Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. As the original molten mass cooled, it contracted, and the structure’s shape relieved the gravity forces.

Using a scanning electron microscope, scientists studied common sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus). They found that the point where their spines attach, called tubercules, have a mathematical pattern of polygons called a Voronoi pattern. The tubercules must withstand strong forces, and the Voronoi pattern provides strength in a lightweight skeletal structure. This pattern gives maximum strength to organic structures that must withstand significant stresses.

Researchers say this design allows sea urchins to withstand predator attacks and environmental stresses. Besides bees and sea urchins, dragonflies also benefit from Voronoi patterns. The scientists studying these marvels of engineering hope that they will “inspire new developments in materials science, aerospace, architecture, and construction.” We can learn much by studying the designs God has used in creation.

References: Science News for September 10, 2022, page 32, and Journal of the Royal Society Interface

November 1, 2022October 31, 2022

Ants Are Essential for Life on Earth

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise.” That biblical injunction from Proverbs 6:6 was written to motivate the lazy and idle person to get busy. The fact is that ants are among the most important life forms God created, and scientists are finding more evidence that ants are essential for life on Earth.

Over 20 quadrillion ants are living on this planet. That’s 20, followed by 15 zeroes. When you add up the total weight of the carbon in those 20 quadrillion ants, you get about 12 million tons. That is more than the combined mass of wild birds and mammals, or about 20% of the total weight of all humans.

Scientists have studied and named more than 15,700 species and subspecies of ants, and their research is adding more to that number each year. Ant chemistry is vital to the existence of all kinds of life. For example, in my army survival training, they taught us to eat ants.

Many people think of ants as pests that serve no purpose but to irritate us and bring problems into our homes. By contrast, research has shown that ants provide a massive service to humans, and we could not survive on planet Earth without them. For example, consider these roles that ants play:

Ants aerate the soil, disperse the seeds of many plants, and break down organic material, enriching the soil and enhancing plant growth.
Ants create a habitat for other animals and provide an essential part of the food chain for mammals and birds. Also, many birds rely on ants to flush out their prey.
Ants are predators that keep populations of other insects in check. They are more effective than pesticides in helping farmers produce food. Ants eat many worms, caterpillars, and insects that eat our crops and leave no destructive chemicals as pesticides do.

Like much of what God created for our benefit, ants help us in many ways we overlook. Managing God’s gifts requires protecting life forms, including ants. Ants are essential for life on Earth. Remembering the verse from Proverbs, we need to “consider the ant” in more ways than one.

Our thanks to David Harrington who brought us this research report from “The Conversation”

October 21, 2022October 18, 2022

Numbers, Chance, and Design

It’s an interesting case of numbers, chance, and design. We often get letters and emails from atheists who want to argue about the things we post. Interestingly, they usually do the opposite of what the writer expects. For example, we recently received a challenge to our argument for God based on the design we see throughout the cosmos. Our atheist friend claimed that numbers are a matter of chance, and therefore they refute any suggestion of design.

In reality, the opposite is true. I was familiar with the example my atheist friend gave. It involves the fact that multiplying 111,111,111 by itself gives a sequence that my atheist friend says “might look like design but clearly isn’t.” You can do this yourself. Multiply 111,111,111 by 111,111,111 and see what you get. If you do it correctly, the answer 12,345,678,987,654,321. Try it and see. Is this a product of chance or a product of design?

This works in a numerical system based on 10, which we use in the western world. However, we are in the midst of switching to a binary system because our computers work on 1 and 0 (or + and -), and much of our world today runs on computers. When mathematicians developed these systems, they had to choose a numerical sequence that worked well for the time and the culture in which they functioned. Since we have ten fingers, base ten was a good choice. I had a math professor who told us that if the early scholars had been barefooted, we would have been using a base twenty system.

What does that tell us about numbers, chance, and design? The point is that the reason 111,111,111 times 111,111,111 gives the pattern that it does is because intelligence designed the system. Intelligent minds made the choices that produced the number pattern. This is an argument for the validity of design in the creation, and design demands a Designer.

October 17, 2022October 16, 2022

The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

When you hear the name “Grand Canyon,” you usually think of Arizona. I have been to the bottom of the Arizona canyon and taken several boat trips down the Colorado River. As a result, I have nothing but good memories of that majestic canyon. Recently I had a chance to visit Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

As a person trained in geology and an admirer of Earth’s beauty and history, I was amazed at how much I could see in this canyon. It’s 1000 feet deep and stretches for 47 miles through northern Pennsylvania. Because it is an erosional formation, it mainly consists of sedimentary rocks. Glaciers went through that flat area and created a lake. Eventually, the natural dam holding back the lake eroded, and the water escaped, gradually forming the canyon. As a result, glacial erratics made of all kinds of rocks, some as big as a house, are scattered all around the area.

The rocks that make up the Allegheny Plateau tell a history of change. Limestone layers form when water is still, and minerals can come together to produce the rock. A flood never produces limestone, and many of the limestone rocks contain marine fossils. Rapidly moving water produces gravel which becomes a rock known as conglomerate. Shale is mud turned into rock, and sandstone can be a beach deposit left by moving water or blown by the wind. None of the sandstone in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania is wind-blown.

The 1000-foot canyon has all of these rock types in various layers. It is evident that at times an ocean covered this area, and other times glaciers deposited boulders, cobbles, and gravel. In addition, the existence of a lake laid down some layers, and occasional coal seams tell us of ancient swamp conditions. Therefore, it is not surprising that the first oil well was produced near this area.

What do places like the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania tell us about God? God is not a magician and does not try to deceive us. Understanding how God made the land on which we live is a testimony to His wisdom and power and the fact that time is not an issue for God. The flood of Noah cannot explain the Grand Canyon of Arizona or the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. We can see clear evidence of a gradual process and claiming that God miraculously zapped all of this into existence without a process over time puts God in the role of being a deliberate deceiver. Because most of these rocks are not flood deposits, neither a flood nor intentional deception is an acceptable explanation for these beautiful canyons. Science and faith are friends, and the scientific evidence of how canyons like this were formed gives evidence of the patience, design, and purposes of God.

October 5, 2022October 4, 2022

God Spoke It Into Existence

One of the wonderful things that technology gives us is the ability to see how God created the Earth and life on it. The Webb telescope is adding to our understanding of the universe. Advances in astronomy and optical telescopes continue to give us more pictures and data, helping us understand what God has done and the methods He employed. When dealing with the creation, preachers, and even some Bible paraphrases, are fond of saying, “God spoke it into existence.” That is an oversimplification because, obviously, it was not God’s voice that created time, space, and matter-energy.

The NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (apod.nasa.gov) for September 20, 2022, has a beautiful picture of the “Statue of Liberty Nebula.” (See the link below.) The data from this area of space shows the presence and creation of complex carbon molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Biologists tell us that these are building blocks of life.

In addition to chemical compounds like PAHs, we can also see hydrogen being forged into the heavier elements that make up the creation around us. Hydrogen is a non-renewable resource, and as we watch stars turning it into heavier elements, we know that the process had a start. The existence of hydrogen throughout space tells us there was a beginning to the creation. As hydrogen is forged into heavier elements, the amount of hydrogen in the cosmos decreases. If space, time, and matter-energy were eternal, all of the hydrogen would be gone.

Proverbs 8 tells us that wisdom was a partner in creation. Psalms 148 praises God for the creation, and verse 5 says, “He commanded, and they were created.” That is not the same as saying, “God spoke it into existence.” As we study God’s WORD, we learn of His wisdom and love. As we study God’s WORK, modern technology allows us to know some of His methods more clearly than ever before.

The Bible gives a simple statement of creation that every human can understand: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Science shows us the wisdom, power, and design of what God has done.

Reference: apod.nasa.gov for September 20, 2022.

October 3, 2022October 2, 2022

Frozen Frogs that Thaw Out and Live

Among the most incredible designs in the natural world is how God equipped various animals to survive winter. Some of the methods are relatively obvious. Burrowing deep under the frost line is one method. We have noted in the past the complex way bears give birth to young and retain urine while hibernating. Wood frogs are unique because they don’t burrow underground for protection from the cold. Instead, they become frozen frogs during the cold months.

Wood frogs are amphibians, meaning they are cold-blooded because they can’t generate any body heat. In winter, the water freezes in the frog’s cells but doesn’t expand and rupture them. They have a natural antifreeze preventing the cells from bursting when they freeze.

When spring arrives, the water inside the frog melts, and the frog awakens. Males immediately begin making a sound like a quacking duck, attracting females. Next, the male will grasp the female with his forelimbs wrapping around her torso. He squeezes until she releases her eggs into the water, where he fertilizes them. The males have a thumb that swells during the breeding season, enabling them to grasp the females.

Scientists are trying to understand how the wood frog’s cells can freeze without rupturing, causing death. Medical science wants to know how to freeze living tissue without damaging it for organ transplants. Many questions are still unanswered in the freezing and recovery of the wood frog. Why don’t all amphibians have this capability, and why is it limited to these creatures?

God has designed special equipment and chemicals to sustain life in all kinds of environments. So when we look at incredible designs, such as frozen frogs, we can know there is a God who created these unusual life forms. (Romans 1:20).

Reference: National Geographic October 2022, page 28.

September 28, 2022September 27, 2022

Animal Environmentalists – Pygmy Marmosets

People have only recently begun to realize that we must manage the environment in a way that doesn’t destroy the resources we need for survival. However, we see many examples of animals using conservation measures to preserve a vital resource. A classic example of animal environmentalists is the pygmy marmoset in the western Amazon of South America.

Pygmy marmosets are the world’s smallest monkeys. The heaviest they get is about four ounces, and their largest size is nine inches. Because of their “cuteness,” people have captured and sold them as pets since they don’t bite, are quiet, and are easy to feed. People feed them sugar syrup along with a few supplements. In the wild, one of their main foods is high-sugar-content tree sap. Pygmy marmosets drill holes into a tree and lap up the flowing sap, and they can keep the hole open as long as needed.

The interesting thing is how pygmy marmosets manage this resource. Drilling holes in multiple trees gives them enough nutrients to sustain a large population. However, making many holes in a tree and keeping them open would eventually kill the tree. So how do these animal environmentalists avoid killing off their food supply?

The PBS program Nature told of researchers who spent a month studying the pygmy marmoset lifestyle in an extremely remote part of the western Amazon away from human interference. The answer is that the monkeys let the holes heal over and switch locations to avoid extracting too much sap from one tree. In this way, they don’t damage the trees and have a constant food source. The question is, how do they know to do this? The human way of doing things might be to pull out everything from one tree and then go to the next until none were left.

God has built a system of checks and balances into the natural world, allowing it to function indefinitely. It is only when humans upset the balance that trouble ensues. Animal environmentalists such as pygmy marmosets display the wisdom of God’s creation.

Source: The PBS program Nature, which initially aired on October 9, 2019

September 26, 2022September 15, 2022

God Created Two Books

How have you arrived at the belief system that governs your life? God created two books we are called to use as the basis for our lives, morals, and religious practice. Since these two books have one author, they must be complimentary and cannot conflict. It is strange that many people read one book and refuse to look at the other. That is true of both atheists and religionists.

One of the books is the Bible, and it calls us to use it as a guide for life. Second Timothy 3:16-17 states it very clearly: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for training, for guiding and for moral discipline so that the man of God may be complete and adequately equipped for all good work.” Atheists reject this book because it involves denying one of a few physical pleasures and gives a purpose in living other than survival. Living selfishly has its rewards, and that is attractive.

God created two books, and the second book is the creation itself. The Bible is full of admonitions to use the things God has created as a means of knowing truth and learning how to live a productive and rewarding life. The Old Testament calls us to use what we see in the world around us as a guide to life. The entire book of Job carries that message. Numerous Psalms call us to see God’s wisdom and design and shape our beliefs in them. (See Psalms 8:3-9; 19:1; 53:1-4; 139:14-16.) Proverbs is full of admonitions to learn from the creation. (See Proverbs 6:6; 8:1-7 and 22-36.)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used the created world as the basis of much of His teaching. (See Matthew 6:26-30; 7:16-20.) Romans 1:18 – 23 says of humans, “That which can be known of God lies plain before their eyes for God himself has made it clear to them. For those things of God which the eye can not see, ever since the creation of the world, are clearly perceived through the things that are made, and are clear to the eye of reason, even his eternal power and divine character so that men have no excuse.”

So God created two books, and it is clear why atheists do not wish to read and apply the Bible to guide their moral and spiritual lives. It is hard to understand why people who claim to believe in God refuse to look at the creation as a source of instruction and guidance. Some are too lazy to read the Bible and study its message, and others are too lazy to read the creation and learn its message. We need to read and study both books so that we can do what 1 Peter 3:15 tells us: “Revere Christ as Lord in your hearts and always be ready with your defense whenever you are called to account for the hope that is in you, yet argue gently and cautiously with meekness and respect.”